Sam Blalock, long respected as one of the nation's finest prep baseball coaches, has had a very unusual 2011-2012 school year.
It began last November with a stunning incident - he was fired by officials at
Rancho Bernardo (San Diego, Calif.), possibly ending an outstanding career which began 38 years ago at Mt. Carmel (San Diego, Calif.).
However, he immediately received an outpouring of support from his players and community members and was reinstated six days later with the explanation that it had been a "misunderstanding." (He already had been retired from teaching.)
The 63-year-old Blalock, who has sent five players to Major League baseball, told the Union-Tribune, "When I got fired, they came to my defense immediately. They got the tables turned and all of a sudden I got back home (from a trip to Boston) and I was called in and they un-fired me."
Fast forward to this spring and a recent 5-3 victory over Westview (San Diego, Calif.) and the veteran coach had just become only the third coach in California history to notch 800 victories. He now has 802 wins and his young team (just two seniors) has posted a fine 18-7 record against top-flight competition.
Commemorative T-shirts were handed out and a giant banner was unfurled.
Blalock observed, "You just kind of reflect on all the great people that you've been around through the times. That's much more important than just the wins."
Junior
Matt Jervis neatly summed up the love his players have for him when he related, "Ever since I was five years old, I wanted to play for coach Blalock."
*
Brenden DelMonte struck out 17 straight batters (18 overall) as
Cherry Hill West (Cherry Hill, N.J.) nipped Pennsauken (N.J.) 2-1.
*Junior left-hander Rob Kaminsky, who throws up to 93 MPH, fired his third no-hitter of the spring as
St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.) blanked Paramus (N.J.) 5-0. He struck out 16, raising his total to 67 in 34 innings. Paramus coach Jon Morrisette told The Record, "He's the best in the country. That sort of talent is one-in-a-million."
*
Kyle Marsh of
Spruce Creek (Port Orange, Fla.) blanked Flager Palm Coast (Palm Coast, Fla.) 1-0 with his second straight no-hit effort. The previous no-hitter was a perfect game for the 6-1,172-pound sophomore.
*
JW North (Riverside, Calif.) edged Bonita (La Verne, Calif.) 5-4 to end a 20-game winning streak and win the championship in the Corona Centennial Tournament.
Gabriel Clark supplied the power with a pair of home runs.
*Sophomore
Garrett Deleon fired a no-hitter with 17 strikeouts as
Johnson City (Texas) blanked La Pryor (Texas) 2-0.
*According to the Los Angeles Times, Pepperdine University has received a commitment from
Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) standout
Brad Anderson, who is batting a lofty .494 with three home runs and 23 RBI.
*
North Medford (Medford, Ore.) junior softball pitcher Maryssa Becker defeated South Medford (Medford, Ore.) in a twinbill by scores of 4-1 and 3-0. She pitched a no-hitter in the nightcap after finishing with a two-hitter in the opener. She had 26 strikeouts for her day's efforts. Her record this year is 18-0 and the team is 21-1.
